Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Soul Jazz's sequel to their successful 2011 set Delta Swamp Rock is similarly handsomely packaged and quirkily selected, using the term "swamp rock" as a loose guideline. Like that set, Delta Swamp Rock, Vol. 2 finds room for Memphis pop that sounds not at all swampy -- Alex Chilton in both cases, here represented by the slick AM pop of the Box Tops' "Deep in Kentucky," which at least sounds soulful, unlike Big Star's delicate "13" -- and this unusually opts for a few songs that remain standards on any American classic rock station you may find: Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird," Marshall Tucker Band's "Fire On the Mountain," and Gregg Allman's "Midnight Rider." ...

More About
This Product

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide
- Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Soul Jazz's sequel to their successful 2011 set Delta Swamp Rock is similarly handsomely packaged and quirkily selected, using the term "swamp rock" as a loose guideline. Like that set, Delta Swamp Rock, Vol. 2 finds room for Memphis pop that sounds not at all swampy -- Alex Chilton in both cases, here represented by the slick AM pop of the Box Tops' "Deep in Kentucky," which at least sounds soulful, unlike Big Star's delicate "13" -- and this unusually opts for a few songs that remain standards on any American classic rock station you may find: Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird," Marshall Tucker Band's "Fire On the Mountain," and Gregg Allman's "Midnight Rider." Around these anchors come a variety of gorgeous, lush country-pop crossovers Bobbie Gentry, Joe South, Hollywood hucksters Cher covering Buffalo Springfield, some old country guys stretching out Earl Scruggs, Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed, Nashville guys playing rock Area Code 615, Captain Beyond, blues-rockers playing jazz Grinderswitch, country-rockers doing pop Captain Beyond, and every now and then a bit of actual swamp rock, thanks to Tony Joe White. Of course, this is nothing more than a bit of nitpicking semantics: those who have a real attachment to the sound of swamp rock are the only ones that will gripe about the absence of such here, but what Delta Swamp Rock, Vol. 2 really does is illustrate the richness of Southern pop and rock in the late '60s and early '70s. This is music that can't be confined to one category -- it's soulful, it's gritty, jazzy, dirty, slick, and funky, sampling from a little bit of all the grand American musical traditions. For those who are unfamiliar with this tradition, this is a great way to get acquainted with '70s Southern rock in all its stripes, while those who know this stuff well will appreciate the idiosyncrasies and occasional obscurity on this fine collection.

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.